There’s nothing quite as grueling as working for hours in the hot summer sun. If you’ve got a yard that needs mowing, you may want to take the time to automate the process with a Raspberry Pi like maker and developer Ulli from the YouTube channel Greenkeeper with Raspberry Pi. Ulli has been hard at work for months perfecting an automatic mower that mows your yard for you so you can sit back, relax and still get work done.
According to Ulli, he’s been working alongside TGD-Consulting, a German IT firm, to develop the mower and create some software that’s effective and easy to use. As of right now, the project is still in development so it’s not quite finished yet. Most recently, Ulli has 3D printed a chassis for the basic hardware components that enable them to test the latest software release.
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(Image credit: Ulli, Greenkeeper with Raspberry Pi)
(Image credit: TGD Consulting)
(Image credit: Ulli, Greenkeeper with Raspberry Pi)
Right now, the team has put together a web-based interface that allows you to see what the mower sees, adjust settings and control its movement from one location. The unit is equipped with a variety of sensors lending to quite a bit of flexibility from what you can control from the web interface. The team calls the application PiMowBotIT-SW.
The mower has a variety of tools and sensors to navigate yards and determine where it needs to go in order to mow. The Pi is programmed to identify the color green as an acceptable plane to pass over for mowing. There are time-of-flight sensors for left and right sweeps and a camera that’s used for image recognition. A custom board also had to be developed that made it easier for the Pi to connect to various sensors. Ulli is using a Raspberry Pi 4 to test the PiMowBot but TGD confirms it should work with other models, as well.
According to TGD, the PiMowBotIT application is designed to run on a light version of Raspberry Pi OS. Their website has a thorough breakdown of not only the software side of the project but also a detailed look at hardware options that can be used in its construction. For example, most of the body can be 3D printed while other components like the mower blades can be constructed using a specific cutting disk.
This is still a work in progress but you can see great strides in the work done so far. If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project in action, check out the video Ulli uploaded to see what the mower looks like in action.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.
Haaa.....the local Wayside Restaurant "It's worth the drive!!!" is using one of these for the first time this year. If it wasn't one of these, it was a very similar one.
I just happened to see it in operation and another observer explained what it was and pointed out the charging station.
Very cool!
Looks interesting - also as a platform for a Robot. I have found in the RPi Club I have, that the simple Robots lose interest very quickly if not programmable and are able to add HW and SW.
I am no fan of YouTube and dislike using it.
How much would it cost? Hopefully that when it goes on sale, all components are included and one does not need to 3D Print anything. I have no 3D Printer and will not be buying one.
